Persbericht

18 January 2013

AAC Capital Partners sells Sdu

The Hague, Amsterdam, München and Paris, 18 January 2013

French publishing company ELS acquires Sdu

French publishing company Editions Lefebvre Sarrut (ELS) reached agreement with AAC Capital Partners (AAC) and Allianz Capital Partners (ACP) to acquire Dutch publishing company Sdu.The proposed transaction is subject to Sdu Works Council consultation and expected to complete in due course.

ELS is originally a French publishing company and an independent, family-owned group, operating in the European market in the area of legal professional information in the LTR domain (Legal, Tax, Regulatory). The acquisition of Sdu is in line with the strategy of ELS, which focuses on reinforcing its position in the legal domain, broadening its market position in Western Europe and extending its product range with new services and sophisticated information solutions. The strategic acquisition of Sdu by ELS and the favourable initial positions for a synergy between both publishing companies offer the possibility of using Sdu’s potential (including Sdu’s share in juris GmbH, the major supplier of legal online information in Germany) in the Netherlands and Germany as a basis for further growth and expansion of the company in the long term.

Sdu management supports the proposal. Sam van Oostrom, CEO of Sdu, has said: “Over the past years, Sdu, in good cooperation and with full support of its shareholders AAC and ACP, successfully accelerated its products and market development and services offering through a further transition from printed materials to online publications and services. As a consequence, Sdu’s market position has improved offering more ‘need to know’ information and services to our customers. The support of new shareholder ELS offers possibilities to leverage both companies’ portfolios and distribution channels.”

Dominique Illien, CEO of ELS, declared: “The Sdu brand, products and quality as well as its top class customer relation are a strong base for building new joint developments in a growth orientation and long term mode. We shall soon welcome the Sdu employees in the ELS community and will work together at developing new opportunities.”

More detailed information:Sdu has approx. 600 staff members and generated revenues in 2011 of more than EUR 130 million. Sdu has a leading position as a publishing company of legal online information, professional magazines and books. In addition, Sdu offers sophisticated information solutions in the area of e-Government and the company is an authoritative publisher of publications in sectors such as construction, transport, government, management and IT. Sdu has an interest in juris GmbH, the major supplier of legal online information in Germany. For more information on Sdu, go to www.SduUitgevers.nl. For more information on the products of Sdu, go to www.sdu.nl.

Editions Lefebvre Sarrut has approx. 1,800 staff members and generated revenues in 2011 of more than EUR 360 million. ELS is owned by the Lefebvre and Sarrut families and is one of the major French publishing companies in the market of legal professional information and training. With its strategic acquisition policy and offices and subsidiaries in Spain, United Kingdom, Italy, the Netherlands and Belgium, ELS has become an increasingly leading player in the European market. For more information on ELS, go to www.efl.fr.

AAC Capital Partners is an investment management company with EUR 1.7 billion under management and two specialized investment funds, dedicated to mid-market buyouts in North-Western Europe. The portfolio is managed by its advisers, who are based in Amsterdam, London and Stockholm, seeking majority stakes in mid-market, profitable, cash-generative companies. For more information on AAC Capital Partners, go to www.aaccapitalpartners.com.

Allianz Capital Partners is the captive, alternative asset platform of Allianz Group with assets under management of about EUR 8.5 billion. ACP is driven in particular by the long-term obligations of the Allianz Group’s long-term life insurance business and plays a key role in the asset allocation of its customers. ACP seeks investment opportunities with appropriate risk/return profiles with direct investments in Europe in companies, infrastructure projects as well as wind- and solar power generation assets and with fund investments in third-party private equity funds worldwide. For more information on Allianz Capital Partners, go to www.acp.allianz.com.